The Inhumans’ Plan

"That’s true."

Hearing Steve’s words, Tony nodded. Thinking of something, he said, "I wonder if Bert has taken care of it yet. Without him, forget attacking the Inhuman Kingdom—we can’t even get to the moon."

Steve smiled. "That doesn’t sound like something Tony Stark would say."

"Did I say anything just now? I didn’t say anything."

Tony shrugged and said, "Steve, I’ll leave the rest to you. I’m heading back to prepare for the battle on the moon."

Steve nodded. "All right. I’ll have Coulson come over right away to register the information and deal with the prisoners."

As Tony flew into the air, he complained, "Who’s the Director here, you or Coulson? Coulson barely has any hair left on his head."

"When he loses it all, I’ll promote him to Director."

Steve laughed. Coulson’s helpless voice came through the communicator. "Director, I can hear you."

Everyone burst into laughter. The battle against the Inhumans had come to a complete end. S.W.O.R.D. had won a resounding victory. Other than Jiaying and her people escaping, every other Inhuman had been captured.

Egyptian Desert. After listening to Earth Demon and the others’ report, Wang Bert frowned slightly. "Why would Tetanus and Crystal help Maximus? Could it be…?"

Thinking of that possibility, Wang Bert snorted and called Stephanie. "Your god may have returned."

"I only have one god now, and that is you, Blood God."

Stephanie replied. Long ago, she had told Wang Bert everything.

Wang Bert laughed heartily. "I like that."

After giving Stephanie his instructions, Wang Bert summoned a projection and ordered, "Go to the Space Station. Having a projection is great—I don’t have to fly there myself."

The projection gave Wang Bert the middle finger and instantly vanished. When he appeared again, he was already in the sky. Then, he transformed into a streak of blood-red light and shot upward.

The current Wang Bert could Teleport directly over short distances.

Moon, Inhuman Kingdom Attilan. Jiaying impatiently asked Maximus, "Your Majesty, has your plan been completed?"

Maximus sighed. "Unfortunately, not yet."

Jiaying frowned. "Not yet? Your Majesty, what exactly is your plan?"

Maximus hesitated for a moment before saying, "Simple. Repair Attilan, fly it to Earth, and launch Terrigen Missiles to force humanity into surrendering."

Jiaying considered it, then nodded. "It’s a good method, but Your Majesty, why not just borrow spacecraft from the Kree?"

Maximus was deeply frustrated. "Do you think I haven’t tried? They won’t lend them to me."

Jiaying was puzzled. "They won’t? Why?"

At that moment, a partially mechanized Kree walked in and said, "Because there is someone on Earth whom we cannot afford to offend."

Maximus introduced him. "This is Korath the Pursuer, a general under Ronan the Accuser."

Jiaying first bowed to Korath, then asked, "Are you referring to the Blood God?"

"I don’t know who this Blood God is. I’m talking about Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers. Back then, Ronan led a fleet to attack Earth, and she defeated them alone."

Korath said, "So I cannot take action. Otherwise, that madwoman will come looking for revenge on Earth’s behalf."

"Earth has such a powerful fighter?"

Jiaying was greatly shocked. After some thought, she persuaded him, "Once we conquer Earth, we’ll have many powerful fighters. By then, we won’t need to fear Carol Danvers at all."

Maximus added, "That’s right. I can assure you that Black Bolt is more than capable of fighting Captain Marvel."

Korath hesitated, then shook his head. "Sorry. Before I came, Ronan gave explicit instructions that I was not to join the battle. This time, the main force can only be you Inhumans. My mission is to observe Earth."

Jiaying asked in confusion, "Observe?"

"You don’t need to know that. In any case, the Kree Empire will not intervene."

Korath shook his head and turned to leave. Jiaying’s eyes flashed as she said to Maximus, "Your Majesty, the longer we wait, the more variables there will be. The Super Heroes are terrifying, whether in strength or intelligence."

"Don’t worry. I haven’t come completely unprepared. Come with me."

Maximus smiled and led Jiaying to a secret chamber. Inside, an octopus-faced man was imprisoned. Seeing Jiaying, he happily said, "Hello, my kin."

Jiaying froze at the sight of the man, then recoiled in terror. She cried out, "Hive, King of the Inhumans! Your Majesty, why is he here?"

This man was none other than Hive, the first King of the Inhumans—the god Hydra had worshipped all along.

Thousands of years ago, Hive was the first person modified by the Kree, becoming the King of the Inhumans. Later, humans and Inhumans alike could no longer endure his brutal rule, so they used the Teleportation Stone to send him to the Death Star.

For thousands of years, Hive had barely clung to life there. Now, he had finally returned.

Maximus said, "Of course I brought him back. With him here, Black Bolt is nothing to worry about."

Jiaying shouted, "Have you gone mad? Hive is the mortal enemy of all Inhumans. He can control Inhumans."

"I know. Crystal and Tetanus were both controlled by him. Otherwise, they never would have listened to my orders and rescued you."

Maximus smiled. "Don’t worry. His body is packed full of liquid bombs. With a single thought from me, those bombs will explode. Even he will die when that happens."

Hive said coldly, "Despicable human."

Maximus instantly flew into a rage. He roared, "I’m an Inhuman, not a human!"

Although Maximus was Black Bolt’s younger brother and a member of the royal family, he had no superpowers—his Terrigen mutation had failed.

In Attilan, Inhumans without superpowers like him were also called inferior Inhumans.

This was why Maximus had always hated Black Bolt—why were they brothers, yet one possessed the strongest superpower while the other had nothing at all? Was that fair? Jiaying was somewhat stunned. She had always believed Maximus possessed powerful superpowers.

"Is deceiving yourself fun? No matter how many times you pass through the Terrigen Mist, you will never become an Inhuman."

Hive sneered. "Maximus, you’re nothing but a lowly human."

"Do you believe I’ll kill you right now, you pile of parasites?"

Maximus cursed through clenched teeth. That was right—Hive was composed of a swarm of parasites. He needed to parasitize human corpses in order to survive.

"You won’t kill me. If you kill me, who will help you control Black Bolt?"

Hive sneered. "Human, don’t give me an opportunity. Otherwise, I’ll make you understand the consequences of enslaving the King of the Inhumans."

"Don’t worry. I will never give you that chance. Stay here obediently. When I need you, I’ll let you out."

Maximus snorted and turned to leave. Jiaying hurried after him. She did not want to remain there for another second.

Once outside, Maximus turned to Jiaying and asked coldly, "Do you think I’m human or Inhuman?"

"Of course you’re an Inhuman. As long as you have Inhuman genes, you’re an Inhuman."

Jiaying said with absolute certainty, "Your Majesty, with your intelligence, whether you possess superpowers isn’t important."

"If only everyone else in Attilan were as wise as you."

Maximus sighed. "Because I have no superpowers, I don’t know how many contemptuous looks I’ve endured. Many people curse me behind my back as the disgrace of the royal family, and people keep trying to send me off to mine.

The reason I seized Black Bolt’s throne isn’t because I crave power. I merely want to tell everyone that even without superpowers, I can still be fit to rule as king—perhaps even better than Black Bolt."

"I completely agree with that."

Jiaying said, "But Your Majesty, bringing Hive back is still too dangerous. He is the Inhumans’ mortal enemy."

"We need him."

Maximus said, "Without him, we can’t defeat Black Bolt and the others. Don’t worry. Once the overall situation is settled, I’ll kill him immediately."

"It can only be this way."

Jiaying sighed, then asked curiously, "Your Majesty, why hasn’t Hive died all these years?"

"Because an organization has been sending people to the Death Star."

Maximus sneered. "That organization is called Hydra. They worship Hive as a god, but they don’t know that he is merely a group of disgusting parasites."

"Hydra?"

Jiaying was stunned, then said, "Your Majesty, Hydra has great influence among humans. Through Hive, we can make them work for us."

"That could work."

Maximus nodded. Not long afterward, Hive contacted Councilor Malik. After Hive parasitized someone, he gained their memories, so he was able to contact Hydra.

Councilor Malik bowed deeply toward Hive on the screen. "My God, welcome back."

Hive said coldly, "Get up. Tell me everything about Earth’s situation in detail."

"Yes."

Councilor Malik nodded and gave a detailed introduction to Earth’s current situation. Then he said, "My God, your greatest enemy is the Blood God. Fortunately, he has been dealing with Dracula lately and cannot get away."

"No wonder the Blood God wasn’t there this time."

Jiaying suddenly understood. If the Blood God had been there as well, they would never have been able to escape Earth.

"Blood God? What nonsense. Only I deserve to be called a god."

Hive said coldly, "Mobilize all of Hydra’s forces and await my orders."

"Yes, My God."

Councilor Malik replied, and the communication ended.

Councilor Malik laboriously climbed to his feet. Stephanie smiled beside him. "Father, at least if you worship the Blood God, you don’t need to kneel. The Blood God hates it when people keep kneeling and bowing."

"You little brat, you don’t even know to come help me up."

Councilor Malik scolded, "Hydra has worshipped Hive for thousands of years. We can’t just abandon him whenever we please."

"Hive is only a bunch of disgusting parasites."

Stephanie walked over and helped Councilor Malik sit down. "Father, he isn’t worthy of our worship. He and the Inhumans can never succeed."

Councilor Malik waved his hand. "No rush. Let’s wait and see. Wait and see."

Stephanie froze, then suddenly understood. Her father was not actually a devout believer of Hive. He was simply betting on both sides.

If Hive won, then with the credit from this, Councilor Malik would rise straight to the top and become ruler of the new world.

If the Blood God won, then with Stephanie there, Councilor Malik could switch sides at any time.

Stephanie exclaimed, "Father, you’re truly cunning. I always thought you were devout."

Councilor Malik smiled. "The Malik Family is only devout toward the strong."

Stephanie said fervently, "Father, only the Blood God is truly strong. Hive isn’t even worth one of his fingers."

Councilor Malik said, "The Blood God is indeed powerful, but the Inhumans aren’t weak either. Let’s wait and see, daughter. As the family head, I cannot place my bets lightly."

"Then let’s wait and see."

Stephanie sneered inwardly. The Blood God had already returned. Whether it was Hive or the Inhumans, however many came would die.

On the moon, Jiaying impatiently said to Maximus, "Your Majesty, we should launch the plan while the Blood God is still occupied."

Maximus said helplessly, "I think so too. The problem is that Attilan hasn’t been repaired yet."

Jiaying said, "We don’t need Attilan. We can directly use the Kree Empire’s fleet."

"Korath won’t agree to…"

Maximus came to his senses and asked in shock, "Uh, Jiaying, you aren’t planning to make a move against Korath, are you?"

"Your Majesty, we cannot miss this opportunity. Once the Blood God returns, even with Hive, we may not be his match."

Jiaying said coldly, "As long as we win this war, Korath and Ronan behind him will forgive us."

Maximus asked, "What if they don’t?"

Jiaying said, "Then we’ll destroy them. Once we control Earth, do we still need to fear the Kree Empire? We Inhumans are the strongest."

Maximus hesitated, then gritted his teeth. "All right. Then we’ll take this gamble. Everything for the Inhumans."

Inside the study, Korath, restrained and unable to move by the Inhumans, roared, "Maximus, you dare attack me? Ronan will not spare you."

"He will reward me, because I will have taken Earth for him."

Maximus shrugged. "Korath, I forced you. You don’t need to bear any responsibility."

Korath froze, then understood Maximus’s meaning. After thinking for a moment, he shook his head. "Carol won’t believe it. With her personality, she will definitely retaliate like a madwoman."

"Whether she believes it isn’t important. What matters is that you have no choice, isn’t that right?"

Jiaying said, "Korath, don’t force us to control your mind. That would cause permanent damage."

Korath gave Jiaying a cold look and said, "I will follow your orders."

"Very good. Have six escort ships load Terrigen Missiles and head for Earth."

Maximus nodded. "Also, hijack Earth’s communications. I want to speak with my future subjects."

"Fine. I hope you succeed. Otherwise, Ronan will not spare you."

Korath picked up the communicator and began issuing orders. Maximus said confidently, "I will not fail, unless humanity wants to be exterminated."

"They have something to protect, so they will hesitate. In this war, the initiative is on our side."

Jiaying said with a vicious expression, "If necessary, we’ll simply exterminate humanity for real."

"Exterminate humanity?"

Korath froze, then shook his head. These two were both insane.